Athletes playing toteemi, entrepreneurship

Two passions: sports in general and running in particular. A coincidence on a trip to Canada and the belief of having a job opportunity in gamification started Toteemi. It is a platform that receives the support of sports figures such as Real Madrid football players to bring the game to sports such as cycling and athletics. Daniel Carvajal and cyclist and Olympic medalist Carlos Koloma.

Combining the real and digital worlds, merging the famous eSports esports and physical sports – which has exploded since the covid pandemic – is not just a reality, it is increasingly demanded by users. New job attempts take daily exercise a step further and give him a plus of motivation to stop being just a routine to stay fit.

According to the data handled by Toteemi, more than 700 million people worldwide are performing gamified sports activities, that is, practicing games in environments that do not belong to them. One of its founders says that in this trend, the app aims to “return the game into sports”: Alfredo Laguia.

Headquartered in Madrid and with chapters in Brazil and the United States, Toteemi currently has 50,000 users and more than two million registered events, 20% of which come from outside Spain. The game consists of transforming the sport that each of them does into a new entertainment area. “There is competition for dominance of regions. We came up with this idea because Athletes place a high value on the terrain on which they train. and they know people who go to the same place.”

Each of them accumulates points with their training. You should record the zones, for example, provide information about where, at what times and at what times of the day the activity took place. Information concerning brands that are “micro-sponsors” to these users. “It’s been very easy to campaign with brands,” says Toteemi’s organizer, whose business model is based precisely on this type of sponsorship. That’s why the app is free right now. But the intention is upgrade to premium model in the future. This will include season passes depending on the time of year.

Prizes for just about everyone

With the sum of the points, the participants appear in a ranking and climb the positions. The games are multiplayer. A region is defined, players sign up and brands award rewards. With a caveat: This is not your typical competition. According to the set parameters, each athlete collects points from training sessions. There is no set day for the competition. as described Directory“80% of attendees end up adding some reward, from shoes to bikes to watches to eyeglasses and nutrition products for athletes”. All this with values ​​ranging from 300 euros to 10,000 euros.

The app managed to close a round of 2.5 million euros in a year, where they amassed 50,000 users. Investors, athletes, “see it very clearly and have contributed ideas.” “They’re very gamers. They play video games and they understand these ideas very well,” he argues. Directory.

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After that they have already opened the next one. This is a three to five million euro Series A that they hope will close quickly. “At a time when it was difficult to capture investment, we had no problem doing so,” he celebrates. This injection will help strengthen the internationalization plan in the coming months as well as launch of the application in foreign markets. They will also add new features and game modes in the app and include new sports such as skiing, golf, hiking and gym activities.

The short-term goal – they expect to start mid-year – is to expand from the tour into Latin America and the United States. The application will be adapted to these countries, and with it, the founders aim to attract about half a million users. “In terms of digital entertainment and competition, amateur sports have a whole new industry to exploit,” he concludes.